


Silver Stripes or Secret Scars

by LadyLioness



Category: Hustle Cat
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Au- avery becomes a cat, Bad Parenting, How Do I Tag, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Tags to be added, au- avery doesnt break the curse, avery doesnt break the curse, cat avery, cute reese, help me pls, male avery, mean mochi, ooc avery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2018-08-09 02:30:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7783309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLioness/pseuds/LadyLioness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avery was always a disappointment to his family. They pushed him to go live at his aunt's to get rid of him. Avery has given up on proving himself to them. He doesn't bother keeping the place clean, he doesn't bother much with anything. Pushed to get a job, he winds up at a cat's paw. The curse takes effect, and Avery finds himself not minding being a cat. Reese takes a special interest.</p><p>-----</p><p>I'm shocked by the small amount of fanfiction for Hustle Cat. Especially one of my favourite pairings, Reese x Avery.</p><p>My first fanfic, so feedback would be awesome! let me know what you think!</p><p>Updates once a week.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Bob-Tale To Remember

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone has any ideas for how they would like the story to go, let me know! I am trying to keep at least one chapter ahead of what i post here.

Avery groaned as harsh sunlight beat down on his face. He knew sleeping on the couch would be a bad idea, but he could have sworn he had at least thought to close the curtains. The teen cracked his eyes open and peered towards the source of the light. Of course. There stood Mochi, holding the curtain aside with his portly body to let the sunlight stream in. The persian glared at his owner and gave an angry 'murr'.

Said owner closed his soft purple eyes for a second before heaving himself up with a sigh and shambling to the kitchen. Maybe if he fed Mochi, the fat cat would finally start to like him. But no, the instant he set the cat dish on the floor the persian raced over and hissed at Avery before digging in.

With an offended huff, the teen headed back over to the couch and stared at his laptop. He had quickly given up on looking for jobs online. The only reason he had been looking in the first place was his parent's demands. They monitored his internet usage and his email, and had threatened him if he didn't apply for at least twelve jobs a day. Avery closed his laptop and pushed himself off the couch. He had been trapped in his aunt's appartment for days. Today he was going to go out and get some fresh air. Hopefully his parents didn't call to check up on him while he was gone. They would be furious at him if they did.

He left the apartment building and wandered aimlessly for a bit. He picked a random direction and just walked. He found a narrow alley that looked like a few drivers had mistaken it for a street. He followed it to it's end, where it opened to a little smattering of shops. He leisurely explored the new area, peeking into a couple of shop's windows to examine their wares. What really drew his attention was what looked like a restaurant settled in the middle in the center of the shops. A Cat's Paw. _Sounds like a pretentious restaurant._ Avery thought to himself. As he drew nearer he saw a black cat settled in the window. _Weird, isn't that a health code violation or something?_ He then noticed the cat was laying beside a help wanted sign. Well at least if his parents bitched at him for leaving the house, he could tell them he was out applying for a job. Not that they would believe him. They never did.

Bells tinkeled cutely as Avery pushed the door open. and he had to suppress his instinct to gag. _Ugh, this is one of those cutesy places._ He was about to turn around and walk right back out, when a voice called out for him to wait a moment. He took the chance to glance around and take in the place. The decor was modern and welcoming, but not the cutesy he had excpeted when he walked in. And there were cats. Everywhere. He only had a couple of moments to take everything in before his eyes were drawn to two cats charging towards him.The cat in the lead, a fluffy brown cat, leaped at Avery the moment he was in range. The teen caught the cat in his arms instinctively, his bored expression changed to one of surprise. The cat chasing the brown furball leapt as well, turned in midair to slow himself down, and landed neatly on Avery's shoulder without missing a stride. Avery's newly aquired shoulder cat reached out a dainty white paw to swat the other cat firmly on it's forehead. The brown cat wailed pitifully, and Avery decided he was done being a cat tree. He dropped the cat in his arms and watched it speed away. He turned his head and found himself nose to nose with a pretty little peaches and cream bobtail.

"Get off. Now." Avery growled angrily at the kitten. It flattened it's ears in fear and cowered down on the human's shoulder. Apparently it didn't do well in the face of angry humans. Before he could reach out to remove the kitten, a voice interrupted.

"Ah, I'm sorry about that! Sometimes those two can get a bit excited! Um, how can i help you?" Avery turned to look at the speaker and found he had to tilt his head back a bit to make eye contact. He examined the tall brunett and quickly wrote him off as boring. He huffed in answer to the other man's words.

S'fine. I like cats. I'm here about the job." He pointed to the sign in the window. The brunett looked a bit nervous at his words, and his eyes flicked to the bobtaill still crouched low on the silver haired teen's shoulder.

"O-oh, alright then. I'll go get the owner then. Let me just..." He reached out as if to take the kitten from Avery's shoulder. Avery flinched away from the reaching hands and hardened his gaze. Under the teen's strong purple gaze, he stuttered nervously and retreated to what seemed to be the kitchen. Avery sighed and his shoulders slumped a bit.

"Great first impression..." He mumbled to himself. The cat on his shoulder seemed to perk up a bit at his less aggressive posture and tone of voice. It tentatively raised it's head and tapped it's nose against Avery's neck. He reached over and stroked it's head gently and moved to take a seat. Before he reached it, the brunett returned with another man in tow.

"I ah, forgot to introduce myself. My name is Landry, and this is Graves, the owner." The brunett- Landry, still seemed a bit nervous, but when he spotted the bobtail settled a bit more comfortably on Avery's shoulder he relaxed. The man behind him caught Avery's attention for a minute with his goth appearance and his mismatched eyes, but lost it a second later when the bobtail poked his neck again. Avery reached up to pet it again and nodded to the two men.

"Avery." He answered simply. Both Graves and Landry seemed very interested in watching Avery pet the little bobtail. There was a long silence, before he stopped petting the kitten and cleared his throat loudly. The two men jumped and Landry at least had the decency to look embarassed. Graves just grinned. Avery shifted and frowned. He turned to go before Graves spoke up.

"I do apologize Avery, we didn't mean to be rude. We were just a bit startled. Our dearest little bobtail is usually quite reserved. He seems to have taken a liking to you though." Avery shrugged and glanced at the kitten. It didn't look very impressed with the other two men. Graves quickly led Avery upstairs for an interview, only starting after being brought coffee by a quiet blond man he intoduced as Hayes. Then the interview started. There were some unusual questions. What's your favourite breed of cat? Avery thought for a moment before pointing to the stumpy tailed cat still perched on his shoulder. Do you know any other languages? How about ciphers? No... He shook his head. What marine animal would you say best represents you? He shrugged and answered shark. What genre of music would you use to describe your work ethic? Classical?... ly hard working? He deadpanned. The bobtail huffed at him in what seemed like amusement, but he was probably just projecting.On a scale of 1-10 rate me as an interviewer. Avery went for a neutral 7.5. Draculas or werewolves? He just stared at Graves for a long moment before answering draculas in a flat voice.

Graves smirked at Avery and told him he was interesting. The teen didn't think he was very interesting. But when Graves told him he got the job, he didn't really care. As the goth left to get the paperwork, Avery was left with the bobtail poking his neck and meowing for attention. He pet the kitten absently as he waited for his soon-to-be boss to return. When he did return, he was trailed by a calico cat. The new cat eagerly hopped onto the table to beg for attention from the silver haired human. He reached out to pet her, but the bobtail kitten flew at her and whacked her on the forehead like he had done with the other cat. He meowed angrily at her before he hopped back on Avery's shoulder and demanded pets. He obliged and watched as the wide-eyed calico retreated down the stairs.

"That wasn't kind of you, she was just curious. She is going to hate you if you keep that up." Graves scolded the bobtail, but it ignored him in favor of demanding more pets from Avery. The goth shook his head and handed some papers to the teen, who signed them all quickly without so much as skimming them. He only hesitated while filling out the personal information section. He stared at the emergency contact space for a long moment before leaving it blank and moving on. He finished it and handed it back to his new boss. "Excellent. You start tomorrow morning. Be here for 7am for morning prep." Avery nodded at Graves and stood up. He spotted Landry as he walked down the stairs and headed towards him when he beckoned. Landry smiled at him and the cat that seemed to be permanently attached to his shoulder. "So how did it go?Did you get the job? Avery nodded and scratched the bobtail under the chinwhen it started to grumble at him. Landry watched the exchange and grinned harder. "I'm glad you two are getting along, he's usually pretty difficult!" The kitten pinned his poited ears back and hissed, surprising Landry. Avery just picked the orange and white cat up gently from his shoulder. It grumbled and tried to hold on, but Avery kept a firm grip. He handed it to Landry and nodded. Then he took his leave. He was out the door too quickly for Landry or the bobtail to react, and he diidn't look back once.


	2. That Cat's a Purrson!

Avery didn't have much trouble getting up the next day. Mostly because he didn't sleep that night. At all. Thanks to the great combo of insomnia, and Mochi being an asshole. Seriously, he was considering just taking the cat to an animal shelter. The fat persian was obviously not happy living with his current owner. The teen got up at 5 am and started going through his morning routine. Showering and getting ready only took about 45 minutes even when he was taking his time. Feeding himself and Mochi took even less time, barely 15 minutes. With an hour to spare and nothing left to do, Avery decided to head to work early. Landry and Graves had mention not being late, but hadn't said anything about being early.

The cafe was only a 10 minute walk, but with a slow shambling walk Avery managed to stretch it to 20 minutes. He was still really early, but the lights were on so it looked like someone was inside already. A quick peek in the window showed Landry and a girl he hadn't seen before. He also spotted the bobtail that was so interested in him yesterday. It looked like the girl and Landry were deep in conversation and the bobtail was meowing at them demanding attention. Still watching the scene in front of him, Avery reached up to knock on the glass front door to be let in. Just as he was about to knock, He let out a powerful sneeze. It seemed the people inside heard him. They were looking over at the door when he opened his eyes. He noticed the bobtail was gone and in it's place was a short man, around his age maybe. _Huh. Where did the kitten go?_ He mentally shrugged and waved at the three to be let in.

Landry walked over and unlocked the door, holding it open. He seemed a bit surprised to see the silver haired teen.

"Oh, Avery. We weren't expecting you yet! You didn't have to come in so early! You could have slept in a bit! Hah hah..." The tall man seemed nervous for some reason. It felt kind of suspicious, but Avery wrote it off with a shrug. None of his business.

"Couldn't sleep." He answered Landry, trying to stop the other man's tirade. He motioned with his head towards the other two people talking quietly on the other side of the cafe. Landry took the hint and lead him over to them.

"Avery, this is Finley and Reese. You already met Hayes yesterday, He's in the kitchen. Mason is there too, you haven't met her yet. I will go bring them out so you can meet everyone formally.I'll be right back." He headed into the kitchen, leaving Avery alone with Finley and Reese. Finley looked excited, but Reese looked beyond excited. He seemed like he was trying to hide it behind a cocky grin. Finley was the first to break the silence.

"It's nice to meet you Avery! Landry and Reese told me you were the strong silent type! I can see why Reese already has a cru-" Her words were cut short by Reese jamming an elbow into her ribs. She sputtered and glared at him, clutching her side. She found him already glaring at her with a blush dusting his cheeks.

"What Finley MEANT to say is that it's nice to meet you, newbie. I'm the assistant manager, so you can come to me with any problems." He shot a warning look at Finley when she opened her mouth to speak, prompting her to close it again with a click. He grinned at Avery amd continued.

"Finley here is our social media expert, she handles our website and twitter and whatnot. She also handles the promotional side of things. I handle the accounting and running of the shop on a day-to-day basis, and I handle any problems that may arise. Mason-"

"The calico and the bobtail." Avery cut him off.

"...What?"

"The calico," he pointed to Finley, "and the bobtail." He pointed to Reese. The two stared at him in shock. Finley finally broke the silence and started rambling incoherently. Avery tuned her out and stared at Reese, who still seemed dumbfounded.

"How did you know?" Avery shrugged and looked away. His attention was caught be a pair of cats snuggling together on a nearby cat tree. Cute.

"S'obvious." He muttered, eyes still focused on the pair of cats. A yank to his wrist brought his attention back to the two people staring at him waiting for an explaination. Or five. Landry must have brought out the other employees while he was distracted. Finley had stopped her mini freak-out too. Great, a captive audience. He focused on Reese and reached over to caress under the shorter teen's chin like he would a cat. After a momentary look of bliss, Reese dropped Avery's hand like he had been burned and took a step back.

"Voice, mannerisms. They're th'same. Kitten." He lowered his voice even more than usual for the last part. He was pleased when he saw Reese shiver and a blush creep up his neck to his cheeks. Avery hadn't felt attracted to anyone in such a long time, he was surprised that this shorty was getting to him. And surprised he hadn't reacted badly when Reese had touched him. He had reached out to touch the other man without even thinking about it. Maybe he should take a step back to gather himself. The others looked shocked. Well, apart form the new face. Mason he assumed. Althogh she seemed like she might be a bit like him in regards to showing emotion.

"But ah, Graves didn't tell you about the curse. Reese was there, he told us Grave's didn't." Landry looked suspicious about something, but Avery just shrugged and answered in a clipped tone. He had already talked more today than he was used to. His vocal cords were starting to ache from the strain.

"D'know 'bout curses. But m'not a sceptic. Or blind. S'obvious." His new co workers all kept staring at him with varying degrees of confusion and shock. He decided to keep the telling scene from earlier of the disapearing bobtail to himself. Finally Mason broke the silence.

"Mason. The cook." She held out her hand to shake. Avery nodded but didn't offer his own hand. She retracted her own after a moment with a thoughtful look. At least she didn't seem offended. That would make struggling his way through this job all the more painful. The others seemed to snap out of it and started chattering on about one thing or another, obviously avoiding talking about the curse. Mason and Reese were more reserved, speaking when spoken to but volunteering nothing themselves.The morning passed quickly with a breakfast Mason had cooked and the quiet opening of the cafe.

The rest of the day passed in a similar fashion.Only a few customers here and there. Mason and Hayes spent their time in the kitchen and Finley seemed to bounce back and forth between the first and secind floor. Reese had disappeared after breakfast, although Avery saw him around in his botail form quite a bit. Landry said the short teen was on 'cat duty' today. Seemed it was literal. The little bobtail kept his distance, not that Avery missed how his eyes followed him when the bobtail thought he wasn't looking. Landry had been training him all day. No sign of Graves.

Finally the day wound down and the last customer left. Avery was tired. Hopefully he would actually manage to sleep tonight. As he packed up for the night and said his good byes, Avery spotted Reese-cat gazing out one of the expansive front windows. The little cat didn't appear to notice the silver haired teen's approach. He reached out and patted the kitten gently on the head. Reese whipped his head up to look at the owner of the offending hand, relaxing when he saw who it was. 

"'Night kitten." Avery purred in a husky voice before exiting the cafe and walking home at an unhurried pace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avery figures out the big secret!


	3. You Have Got To Be Kitten Me Right Meow

Mercifully Mochi let him sleep that night. Avery woke in the morning feeling fairly well rested. His cheek felt sore though. With a glance at the clock, Avery rolled himself out of bed and stumbled his way to the bathroom still half-asleep. He stared at himself in the mirror for a long moment. He rubbed his eyes hard before looking back at the mirror. It was still there. A whisker. On his face. _Growing out of his cheek_.

After some experimenting he learned that yes, whiskers are very _very_ sensitive. All attempts to remove it failed, leaving his cheek feeling worse than when he started. He gave up and went about his morning routine as normally as he could, he saw no reason to get upset about something he couldn't control. He would just have to hope the cafe wouldn't be busy. Judging by yesterday's crowd, it wouldn't be.

Of course his luck meant that there was a crowd of people outside when he arrived. He was prepared to be made into a spectaclewhen the crowd inevitably noticed him, but the whisker fell off before anyone noticed him. He bent over to pick it up and shoved it in his pocket. A gentle prod to his cheek revealed no marks from where the whisker had grown, and no pain in his cheek. Great. This curse seemed like a fun time all around.

Landry opened the door to let him in when he reached it. He barely had one foot in the door before Finley threw herself at him. He flinched and shoved her bodily away. Maybe he had been a bit too violent, as she yelped and almost fell over. She recovered quickly thoughand beckoned him to the second floor. He followed her as a sort of apology, only to be bombarded with a litany of questions.

"Have you changed yet Avery? What breed are you? Oh I bet you are a silver tabby or something super pretty like that! Can i see? Oh i really wanna see-" Avery cut her off by pulling the whisker from his pocket and presenting it to her.

"Oh my gosh, is that yours?! You HAVE to show me your cat form!!" He shook his head and let himself smile at his eccentric co worker faintly in amusement.

"...Not a cat yet..."

"You have to showw me after you change alright?!"

"...Fine."

Finley did a happy little jig and lead Avery back downstairs to eat. The others had already set everything up while Avery was being interogated. Before they reached the others Filney whirled around to face Avery. He stopped and stared at her.

"I forgot to mention it before Avery, but I like your Akiya shirt!"

"...A..kiya?"

Yeah y'know, from Bl@st Zone?" Finley seemed to shrink a little bit under his blank stare.

"It's a uh, a video game...?"

"I don't play games." He averted his eyes and Finley seemed to take the hint to stop talking about it. She headed to the table where everyone had already seated themselves. After she sat down the only seat left was in between Reese and Hayes. Avery slid into it with a nod to Hayes and a long look at Reese.

"Morning kitten." Reese turned red and glanced away, muttering a 'morning' in reply. Avery felt a little smug as they ate breakfast. The meal passed quickly. After they had all finished Finley disappeared into the back only to reappear a minute later in her cat form, balancing a jelly donut on her head.

"Hey Avery, look familiar? I bet this is your first time meeting a real life celebrity!" When he didn't react she deflated a bit.

"Jeez, don't you watch cat videos on youtube?" He shook his head and averted his eyes. His neatral expression turned a little nervous for a second before he schooled his features back to a blank mask.

"Don't watch videos. No time." Finley's tail drooped and she looked dejected, like she had tried her best to connect with her new co worker and failed. Reese however, was watching Avery closely. He was curious about the nervous expression that he had seen flash across the silver haired teen's face. Avery decided to end the uncomfortable moment by standing and collecting plates to take to the kitchen. He helped Mason and Hayes for a bit before Landry called him to the front to help open. The tall man exxplained Jelly Donut days and then the day began. He was busy all day, running around taking orders and serving coffee and food. Not too busy to notice Reese's eyes on him from time to time though.

The day seemed to drag on forever. Finally, the last customers were finishing up and heading out. Avery left Landry to take care of the stragglers. He headed up the stairs for some much needed coffee, and found Filney. Now human, she seemed beyond worn out. Sprinkles were dotted throughout her hair and over her face. Clumps of icing were stuck in her hair and Avery had to suppress a laugh. He obligingly got her a coffee and settled down across the table from her. Soon the other staff followed their example and congregated upstairs, escluding Mason.

Landry informed him that Masoncame in and left early. They divided up the tips and set some aside for Mason. As they chatted quietly, Avery found himself nodding off. After a while he jolted sharply awake when a hand gently touched his shoulder. Moving on instinct, he grabbed the hand and twisted it behind the back of it's owner. A startled shout brought him to his senses. He let go immediately when he saw who it was. Reese shook his arm out and glared at the other man reproachfully.

"I'm sorry Reese." Avery's quiet apology seemed to shock the shorter teen. Before he could respoond, Avery was down the stairs and out the door. He didn't stop until his body started to feel weird and tingly. He glanced down at his hands and saw they were a bit furrier than he remembered. Silver and gray fur sprouted from all his visible skin. He took a few steps and felt his ears start to ache. He reached up and found they had migrated higher than they were supposed to be, and very obviously shaped like a cat's.

He took a few more steps forward and his legs decided to stop supporting him. He crumpled to the ground, catching himself on his hands and knees. The tingling all over his body grew into a burning sensation. It was a familiar feeling, but less intense than what his body remembered from another time. Less intense did not mean it wasn't painful. He silled himself to stay quiet as he crouched there, gasping. It felt like hours he spent there, holding in the pain. He heard footsteps behind him. As they drew closer they softened, the sound of two feet against the pavement melting into four. He opened his eyes into slits and found himself looking into the eyes of cat Reese.

"Avery! Are you okay? You look like you're in pain but... the transition isn't supposed to... Here let me help." He looked concerned. He padded closer and reached out a paw towards Avery. Before the paw made contact, Avery let out a ferocious snarl and bared his teeth at the bobtail. Reese froze and stared at his co worker with fearful eyes. Purple eyes widened and Avery frize as well. Then he took off, running on four legs. He wobbled and almost fell as his back legs shortened and his whole body shrank. A tail sprouted and he thrashed it as he ran, trying to keep his balance as his body morphed. Behind him somewhere he could hear Reese calling for him to wait. He ran faster. He could hear the sounds of pursuit behind him.

He ran past his apartment without even slowing down. No point in trying to get in. Even if he managed to find a way inside, Mochi would probably attack him. He dodged in and out of alleyways, trying to loose Reese. He had never been so glad for his experience in making a quick gettaway and disappearing. Finally he ducked behind a dumpster and squeezed himself between two fallen trash bags. He heard Reese run by and let out a little sigh of relief. He was alone, at least for now.

A wave of exhaustion rolled over him. He felt every hair on his body burn from nose to tail-tip and wished the adrenaline wasn't wearing off. He lay there surrounded by trash, feeling for once like he was where he belonged. As his heart-rate slowed and the pain eased a bit, Avery felt himself being dragged towards sleep. He closed his eyes and let himself fall into a fitfull sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avery is a cat! I wanted to skip through the stuff from the visual novel as quickly as i could without leaving it out entirely, so sorry if it feels a bit rushed. Poor Avery, he is having a tough time this chapter. And Finley is just trying to bond with the new guy! Let me know what you think!


	4. A-paw-ling Circumstance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has been so long since my last chapter! hopefully i will get into a regular posting schedule now!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to meet cat Avery!

Avery woke with a start to the sound of bags of garbage thumping into the dumpster sheltering him. After the sound cut off and footsteps faded away, he heaved himself to his feet. His four feet. God that felt weird. Wiggling back out from his hiding place was tricky, but he managed. He surveyed his surroundings and knew he was hopelessly lost. Even if he had been here before, there was little chance he would recognize it from his new cat view. He tried to remember what direction he had come from, but he had been so frantic to escape Reese the night before that he hadn't paid much attention to where he was going. He tried to pick up the scent trail of himself or Reese. He gave up quickly. There were too many new smells assaulting his newly enhanced sense of smell.

Avery picked a random direction and walked. Hopefully he would get lucky and find a landmark he recognized. As he wandered around and hoped for a miracle, he noticed a clock in the window of a store. _10am. I'm late for work._ He couldn't bring himself to worry too much. After all, he just got this job to get his parents off his back. He didn't get how they could have such low expectations of him, and somehow still berate him for not being perfect. He remembered how they had reacted when he had told the about his new job. They had accused him of lying and demanded he show them proof. He couldn't take pictures, they wouldn't let him have a cellphone or Ipod, or even a camera. They didn't trust him with technology. They had barely let him have his old hand-me-down laptop. He had promised to mail them the pay-stub from his first paycheck and they had ordered him to send _all_ of his pay-stubs. He had agreed of course, he knew he had little choice in the matter. Then they had hung up on him without so much as a good-bye.

Avery shook himself from his thoughts and glanced around at where his idle wandering had brought him. He felt like that candy store looked familiar... if he took a left at the next corner... there! He knew that little bakery! He was only a few blocks from his aunt's apartment. As he made his way past the bakery the teen caught a glimpse of himself in the glass storefront and paused. His eyes trailed over the silver stripes and thick silver splotches. He tore his eyes away from the one thing he had hoped not to see on his cat form and hurried away. After that he kept his eyes carefully away from anything that might cast a reflection.

Soon he was only a street away from A Cat's Paw. He hesitated, wondering if there was a way he could become human again. He didn't want his coworkers to see... this. He flicked his tail in resignation and decided to approach the cafe from the back. At least then he could try to change back somehow before anyone saw him. However, once he found himself within a few feet of the cafe he found his body start to get a tingling burning sensation again. This time he didn't let himself stop. As he paced forward the feeling intensified and suddenly with an immense wave of pain, Avery was a human again.

The burning and the pain lingered, but at least he was on two legs again. He mentally noted his distance from A Cat's Paw for future reference. He made his way around the building to the front doors and pushed them open. His coworkers were on him almost before the bell tinkled to announce his arrival. Landry and Finley were trying to interrogate him, while Hayes stared at him from a spot beside the front windows. Only Mason and Reese didn't meet him at the door. Mason was probably busy in the kitchen, and Reese seemed to be tending to the few customers in the cafe.

Avery's attention was drawn back to Landry and Finley when the latter plugged her nose with her fingers and made a gagging noise.  
"Bleh. Avery you smell like you slept on a bed of garbage!" When he said nothing, Landry jumped to his rescue.  
"Ah, you can use the shower upstairs if you want. Graves keeps a lot of different bathroom supplies stocked, so help yourself."  
"...Thanks..." He wanted to talk to his new boss anyways. Being a cat meant that he would need help with a few things. He tromped up the stairs, keep his distance from the customers. Reese had disappeared. He supposed that was on purpose. Landry was following behind him and pointed out a set of stairs he hadn't noticed before. It opened up to a surprisingly nice apartment. The teen took a quick look around to locate the bathroom, noting a few other important rooms and features.

Avery found the right room and locked himself inside it. After a quick peek into the cabinets he found a folded pair of soft dark-wash jeans and a purple cotton long sleeved shirt that looked about his size, along with a pair of socks and a fresh towel. He stripped and showered, all with a practiced avoidance of looking at his body. He dressed quickly, thankful that the shirt was a bit too big on him and the sleeves hung halfway down his hands. He tossed his clothes into the bathroom laundry basket and exited the room.

Reese was waiting for him in the living room. He sat on one of the two pleather couches and was stroking an old black cat sitting beside him. Avery had never seen the cat before. At first his mildly curious look, Reese introduced them.  
"Avery, this is Dracula. Dracula, this is A Cat's Paw's newest hire." The old cat blinked slowly at Avery before she turned her attention back to the other teen with a demanding meow. He obliged her with a few gentle pets before he glanced over to Avery, who had taken a seat on the opposite couch.

"...Are you alright?" His question was soft, coaxing. As if he thought Avery a nervous stray in need of soothing.  
"M'fine." He wasn't. Far from it. But knowing him for two days didn't entitle Reese to the truth. The shorter man looked disappointed. What was Avery supposed to do? Spill his whole life story about how his parents hated him and his entire life was a steaming pile of shit?! They were coworkers. Reese had a long ways to go if he ever hoped to hear any private details about Avery's life.  
"Okay," he continued quietly. Avery watched him pack away his emotions to deal with later.  
"Do you need anything?"

"Graves." Reese seemed floored by his immediate answer. Avery thought he saw frustration in the other teen's eyes. Then, he just nodded and left. Avery and Dracula stared at each other for a few minutes before Graves made his appearance.  
"Ah Avery, I see you have met the esteemed Countess Dracula! Isn't she a dear?"  
"..."  
"Now tell me, my most stoic of employees, what can I do for you?" He plowed right through the teen's silence.  
"Need your help... with a cat." Graves looked a bit crestfallen. Had he not expected his newest employee to turn into a cat? Avery was no expert, but he was certain Finley had mentioned that the cat curse affected _all_ the cafe's employees.

"Ah yes, I suppose you have changed now. Well, I take care of the homes of all the employees who ask. If you need to bring anything to the cafe, I can help with that as well. Although I fear I wont be much help with... getting acquainted with your new body-"  
"Not me. My cat Mochi." Avery cut off the man's rambling. As much as he would _love_ to have graves help with his apartment, he needed his mean cat living in it taken care of more.  
"I see. I will make sure to drop in to see him when I can. Is there anything else you require?"

The teen shook his head. He stood and made his way towards the door. He nodded a goodbye to Graves as he passed. He reached the cafe to find Finley waiting to ambush him. She talked non-stop as Avery headed down the stairs to the kitchen to snag some coffee.  
"-said you finally changed into your cat form! He didn't tell us what breed you are though! You have to show me! I bet your cat form is super pretty! I mean, Reese was SOOOO worried about you when you weren't here on time! I've never seen him so worked up! I think he likes you~" Mason ignored them as they entered the kitchen, focusing on the cake she was baking. Avery wandered over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup while Finley kept twittering at him. Reese poked his head into the kitchen just in time to hear Finley's comment about his supposed crush. His face turned beet red and he stuttered out a denial before escaping to the front.

The brunette burst out laughing and Avery allowed himself to crack a small smile. Even Mason looked amused. Feeling a bit better, Avery went about his day as usual. He managed to push his new predicament to the back of his mind and focus on his work. At least until Finley would come over to pester him about his cat form. Or when he would catch Reese watching him from a distance. He did his best to avoid the shorter teen all day. The day didn't last long enough for Avery. All too soon they were closing the cafe. He wanted to linger, but he could feel his coworkers' eyes on him. If he loitered too long, Finley would follow him. Or Reese. He waved goodbye and slipped out the backdoor in the kitchen before anyone had a chance to stop him.


End file.
